Menez-Dregan, Paleolithic archaeological site in Plouhinec, France

Menez-Dregan is a collapsed marine cave in Plouhinec, Finistère, cut into a marine abrasion corridor whose ceiling fell in over successive periods. The exposed face shows compacted brown and tan sediment with embedded stones and pebbles, held above by pale grey rock under a wire mesh, with small white labels pinned along the cut. The sequence alternates coastal deposits, collapse layers and slope deposits.

People first visited this cave around 460,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest known human sites in western Europe. The evidence shows that groups returned to shelter here over a span of several hundred thousand years.

The site lies in a collapsed marine cave in the abrasion corridor at Plouhinec, near Audierne. A discovery trail along the coastal path links it with the Souc'h megalithic necropolis and the Porz Poul'han covered alley. A heritage interpretation centre opened in spring 2012 in a restored house nearby.

A trail leads visitors along the coast to the cave with several stops that explain the site's story. The path is fairly easy to walk, but the coast is windy and can be wet, so wear sturdy shoes and bring weather-resistant clothing.

Excavations uncovered hundreds of stone tools and bone pieces, but what makes the site special is the discovery of charcoal fragments showing that people made fire here hundreds of thousands of years ago. These fire remains are valuable to science because they demonstrate early mastery of fire.